Transfer mechanism



Dec. 11, 1945. D, CORNELL ET AL TRANSFER MECHANISM Filed Feb. 1, 1943 s Sheet s-Sheet 1 BY 5 JA coasz/y- Aime/vs):

Dec. 11,1945. F. D. C'ORNE LL m1 2,390,924

TRANSFER MECHANISM Filed Feb. 1, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I y I 1111 111. '1"

ll II II I Dec. 11, 1945.-

TRANSFER MECHANISM Filed Feb. 1, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet -3 INVENTORS:

BY E. facoass v F317. CO/E'NEAL 4 Patented Dec. 11, 1945 Fay D. Cornell,

Altadena, Calif.; Cornell San Gabriel, and Edwin J acobsen, said Jacobsc'n assignor to said Application February 1, 1943, Serial No. 474,292

21 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for transferring material from one position to another, and refers particularly to such means having therewith connected mechanism capable at the same time of replacing the material transferred with other similar material,

It is the general object of the invention to provide simple and convenient means for automatically interchanging goods, articles, or other material between stations independently movable relative to each other. To this end, the invention resides in the methods and combinations set forth in the description to follow and illustrated in the appended drawings, of which:

Figs. 1 and 1 combine to form a fragmentary sectional side elevation, taken substantially through the center of the device of the invention, illustrating merely some of the more important features thereof;

Fig. 2 represents a more complete plan view of the invention, with parts broken away in various places in order more clearly to disclose other important parts thereof;

Fig. 3 is a sectional end elevation illustrating the lower portion of the structure of the invention, and taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and Fig. 4 illustrates diagrammatically simple means of interconnecting the stations of the invention for relative, timed movement, as will be hereinafter fully explained.

The following description is directed to the particular adaptation of the invention illustrated in the drawings in order to present a concise and clear exposition of its underlying principle. It is to be understood, however, that the invention may be adapted for use in connection with devices other than those herein described.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the numeral I denotes tiers of cages of a battery, such as commercially used to house poultry. These cages may be mounted on vertically disposed bars 2, which, in turn, are hung to move horizontally along-a track, for instance, as disclosed in Cornell Patent No. 2,257,734 issued October 7, 1941. Such cages have wire floors 3, and dropping plates 4 are placed below the floor of each cage on angle irons I and I fastened to the sides of the cages. In its present form, the invention is directed to mechanism for interchanging these dropping plates while the cages of the battery move slowly past the mechanism. It is to be noted that several tiers of cages may be employed, each independently served by the devices of the invention but that, for the sakeof simplicity, only a part of such battery is illustrated.

In'front of the battery is placed a frame 20, which is fitted to support the devices of the invention, as will now be described in detail. A shaft 2| is mounted to rotate in this frame, directly outside the space between. the floor and dropping plate of each cage. Chains 22 and 23 are hung on sprocket wheels 24, which are rigidly secured tothe shaft near the ends thereof, and these chains extend to the rear end of the frame, where they are hung on sprocket wheels'25 of a shaft '26, see Fig. 1 A control plate 3a which, for the sake of simplicity, hereinafter is termed the carrier, is hung on these chains by means of special'link attachments 21. This carrier is designed to insert a clean dropping plate 4 beneath the plate 4 of the battery and thereupon to withdraw the plate 4 from the battery for cleaning and subsequent return thereto. ,It is, in Fig. 1, in full outline shown in somewhat retracted position and in dotted outline shown at 30* in the position it takes after it has picked up the plate 4 and commenced to withdraw this plate.

To this end, a guideway, comprising side rails 31 and 32, extends rearwardly from the shaft 2| approximately two thirds the distance to the shaft 26. Behind this guideway is a relatively short guideway, 33 and 34, slightly elevated above the plane of the former. It is further to be noted that a plate 35 is freely hung on the shaft 2 I, and this plate, which for convenience may be termed the wing, is used to assist in removing the plate 4 from the battery, as will appear presently.

The side edges of the carrier 30 are, in Figs. 1 and 2, shown resting in the guide rails 3| and small 32, and its front end almost touches the wing 35.

A clean dropping plate 4 is shown resting below the carrier. It is noticed that the carrier ex tends a short distance that hooks 36 and 31 rise from its front edge, also that its front corners are shown notched at 3|] and 30*, see also Fig. 2. Let it be assumed that the carrier is moving forward, in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1. It is seen that its front edge will strike the wing 35 and cause .it to swing upward on the shaft 2| until its outer edge reaches under the edge of the dropping plate 4 and commences to tilt the latter on its supports l and l of the battery. This forward movement causes the carrier to advance the plate 4* beneaththe tilted plate 4 until it takes a position directly thereunder. 'In this position, it is to be noted that the hooks 36 and 31 have passed'a short distance aheadof the tilted plate 4.

beyond the plate 4 and Because the chains 22 and 23 draw the carrier around the sprocket wheels, it is seen that the movement of the carrier becomes reversed, causing its hooks to come into contact with the edge of the plate 4 and commence to withdraw the latter until the position indicated in dotted outline in Fig. 1 is reached, whereupon the carrier,

with the plate, passes onto and along rails 40 and 4| of a guideway positioned a short distance above the rails 3| and 32. A series of suitable cleaning devices such as squeegees 42 are shown mounted above the rails 40 and 4| to scrape off the droppings accumulated on the plate 4, and this material is pushed over the front edge of the carrier, thereupon to drop into a suitable receptacle 43 at the bottom of the device, see Figs. 2 and 3.

Th carrier continues to move the plate rearward until its front edge passes over the rear edge of the guide rails 40 and 4| and causing the front edge to drop on to the rails 3| and 32. It is noticed, however, that the notches 30 and 30 reduce the width of the front end of the carrier sufficiently to cause this portion thereof to drop between these guide rails, thereby to cause the hooks to drop below the edge of the dropping plate, which latter comes to rest on therails 3| and 32. The carrier, however, continues to move rearward under and beyond the plate, and it slides over short guides 33 and 34, finally to reach its extreme rearward position, as indicated in'dotted outline in Fig. 1 The link attachments 21 now pass around the sprocket wheels 25 to thebottom reach of the chains to cause the front edge of the carrier slightly to tilt upward on the rear edge of the guides 33 and 34, whereupon it continues to move forward until its front edge passes over the rear edge of the plate 4, which all this time has been resting on the rails 3| and 32.

The carrier is, at the point where it is pivotally hung on the special chain attachments 21, made with shoulders 30, the overall distance between which is less than the distance between the guides 33 and 34. These shoulders are therefore free to reach below the underside of said guides as the carrier advances, and it is seen that they come into contact with the rear edge of the plate 4 to push the latter forward. The final movement of the carrier brings the plate back to its original position, as indicated in Fig. 1 at 4, and a second cycle of operation commences without interruption.

It was above stated that the battery may be hung to move on a track past the devices of the invention, in which case it becomes necessary to impart corresponding movement to these devices during the period in which the plates are interchanged. Illustrative of this feature, we have shown the frame 20, which conveniently may be termed the carriage, mounted on wheels 28 adapted to ride on a track 29, see Figs. 2 and 3. Two chains, 44 and 45, are hung on sprockets 46, which are mounted for rotation in the carriage, and a special link attachment, shown in the form of a rod 41, bridges the space between the chains rigidly to interconnect the latter. An arm 48 is pivotally hung on a floor standard 49, and the outer end of this arm is perforated to journal on the rod 41'. Because the latter is held against reciprocatory movement by the arm 48, it follows that such movement will be imparted to the whole carriage, along the track 29, when the sprocket wheels are caused to r tat as above pointed out. For

and this movement is so timed that the interchange of the plates takes place while the carriage is moving along with the battery directly in front of the plates to be withdrawn. As about one-third of the cycle of movement of the sprocket wheels around the chains is consumed in completing this interchange of plates, suflicient time remains for the carriage to complete its whole cycle of movement and return to its initial position before the succeeding battery section reaches a position directly in front thereof.

The chains 44 and 45 are, through suitable means, such as gears 5| and 52, connected to be driven from a main shaft 50 which, in any convenient manner, is connected to be driven from the battery circulating mechanism at the proper speed. A bevel gear 53 is shown fastened to the front end of this shaft and it is in mesh with a bevel gear 54 of a vertical shaft 55, see Fig. 2. A series of spiral gears 56 are fastened to this shaft in position to mesh with spiral gears 51 of the carrier drive shafts 2|, there being one such drive shaft for each tier of cages in the battery,

the purpose of illustrating connections by means of which the above described transfer mechanism is driven from the battery circulating mechanism at the proper speed, reference is invited to said Cornell patent and to Fig. 4 of the drawings, in which the following simple driving connections ar diagrammatically outlined.

The cages l are, as in the patent, shown hung on a track 60 and circulated thereon by means of a chain 6|, which latter is hun on sprocket wheels, one of which is indicated at 62. A bevel gear 63 is fixed to rotate with this sprocket and it is positioned to rotate a bevel gear 64 of a shaft 65. The latter, in turn is shown gear connected to drive the shaft 55, the top of which is made extensible, substantially as indicated at 65, and it is fitted with universal joints 61 so that it may adjust itself to the reciprocations of the carriage 20.

, The mechanism just described merely illustrates simple means for imparting the required movements to the device and does not necessarily represent mechanically more desirable driving connections. The various features of the invention herein disclosed are also merely illustrative of simple means of attaining the desired results. It

has been the sole aim to render the drawings and the description thereof as clear and easilyread as possible, and right is reserved to embody such modifications as will come within the scope of the appended claims. Nor is it intended tolimit the use of our invention to means for moving and cleaning trays of battery cages but that it is within the purview of any competent construction engineer to adapt it to a large variety of uses without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. The combination with a of receptacles carried therein, thereto, reciprocable parallel with the movement thereof, endless conveyorsmounted on said carriage for movement perpendicular to the movement of the carriage, and means movable with said conveyors for withdrawing the receptacles from the framework and replacing them by other receptacles while the carriage is moving in the direction of movement of the framework.

2. The combination with a moving framework,

of receptacles carried therein, a carriage adjacent moving framework, a carriage adjacent thereof,- endless conveyors mounted on said rearriage for movement perpendicular to the movement :of the carriagegand .means .rnovable with said conveyors for withdrawing the receptacles from the framework :and replacing them by other receptacles while the carriage is movingwin' the direction of movement of the framework; and means for emptyingsaid receptacles :upon removal from th framework.

3. The combination with a moving framework, of receptacles carried theremsa carriage adjacent thereto, reciprocable parallel with the movement thereof, endless conveyors mounted on said carriage for movement perpendicular to the movement of the carriage, and means movable with said conveyors :for withdrawing'the receptacles from the framework and replacing them :by other receptacles while the, carriage is moving in the direction :of movement :of the framework, and driving :means :moving the various parts in proper timed relation to each other.

4. The combination with amoving framework, of receptacles thereon, .a carriage reciprocable in frontof and parallel with said framework, and receptacle carrying means on said carriage reciprocable toward and away from the framework for withdrawing receptacles from the latter and substituting in their place the receptacles carried by said means.

5. The combination with a moving framework, of receptacles supported thereon, a carriage .revciprocable in front of and parallel with said framework, receptacles on said carriage, and means on the carriage reciprocable toward and away from said framework for withdrawing receptacles therefrom and simultaneously passing receptacles from the carriage thereto.

6. The combination with a moving framework, of receptacles supported thereon, a support in front thereof, endless conveyors on said support, receptacles on said conveyors, means for continuously moving said conveyors, and means mounted on and movable with the conveyors for withdrawing receptacles from said framework and replacing them by receptacles from the conveyors.

7. The combination with a moving framework, of receptacles thereon, a carriage reciprocable in front of and parallel with said framework, endless conveyors continuously movable on said carriage, receptacles carried by said conveyors, and means movable with the latter for withdrawing receptacles from the framework and simultaneously substituting therefor receptacles from the conveyors,

8. The combination with a moving framework, of receptacles carried thereon, a carriage mounted in front thereof for reciprocations parallel therewith in timed relation thereto, endless conveyors on said carriage moving at right angles to the carriage reoiprocations, similar receptacles supported on said conveyors, means movable with the latter for withdrawing receptacles from said framework and simultaneously replacing them by receptacles from the conveyors, and means for clearing said first named receptacles of any matter previously lodged thereon after they pass from the framework on to the conveyors of said carriage.

9. The combination with receptacles, of a moving framework supporting said receptacles, means for withdrawing receptacles from said framework and again returning the receptacles thereto, said means comprising a device placed adjacent the framework for reciprocation parallel therewith, carriers for said receptacles in said device movable perpendicularly to the movement ofrthezlatter, andaneans movable withusaid carriers'ifor effecting rsuch interchange "of .i'eceptaclesfbetween the framework :and the carriers.

to. The combination withreceptatzles, of azm'oving framework adapted to tsupportt'said' receptaclespa :device placed adjacent-said framework for reciprocatory movement parallel therewith, cartime for said receptacles mounted in said device for movement perpendicular to the movement thereof, and means 'movable with said -carriers for transferring receptacles therefromito fsaid framework and simultaneously withdrawing treceptacles fromithe latter for deposit on the fearriers.

11. The combination with receptaclesgofn mow ing: framework adapted to support :saidf receptacles,;a 'deviceplaced adjacent the framework for reciprocatory movement "parallel 'w-ithrthe framework, carriers for said "receptacles "mounted in said devi'ce for movement perpendicularto :the movement thereof, and means movablewiths'said carriers and adapted while the frameworkr 'and the carriers move in the same direction at the same speed to transfer receptaclestherefromtto the framework and simultaneously to withdraw receptacles from the latterfor deposit "on :the carriers.

12. The combination with receptaclesof 'amoving framework supporting said receptacles; means for withdrawing the latter from said framework and again returning the receptacles thereto,-:said means comprisin a device'placed adjacent the framework for reciprocation parallel therewith,

carriers for said receptacles in tsaid'device movable perpendicularly to the movement of the latten'means movable with said carriers .forzef fec'ting :such interchange of receptacles between the framework and the carriers, .and'meansfor emptying the receptacles as they are moved. away from the framework on the carriers.

13. The combination with a moving framework, of receptacles horizontally placed thereon, a carriage adjacent thereto and reciprocable parallel with the movement thereof, endless conveyors mounted on said carriage for horizontal movement perpendicular to the movement thereof and adapted to receive said receptacles, means on said conveyors for raising the adjacent edge of the receptacles within the framework as the carriage commences to move with the framework, and means on the conveyors for pushing receptacles from the conveyors into the framework beneath said partially raised receptacles, said means being adapted to transfer said partly elevated receptacles to the conveyors.

14. The combination with a moving framework, of receptacles horizontally supported therein, a carriage adjacent thereto and reciprocable parallel with the movement thereof, endless conveyors mounted on said carriage for horizontal movement perpendicular to the movement thereof, carriers on said conveyors adapted to support said receptacles, means on the conveyors for raising the adjacent edge of the receptacles in the framework, the said receptacle supporting carriers being positioned on the conveyors to slide underthe partly elevated receptacles, to deposit the supported receptacles beneath the said elevated receptacles, and to'transfer the latter to the conveyors.

15. The combination with receptacles, of a moving framework adapted to support said receptacles, a device placed adjacent said framework for reciprocatory movement parallel therewith, endless conveyors on said device for horizontal move ment perpendicular to the movement thereof, and receptacle supporting carrier plates movable with the conveyors for interchanging receptaclesin the framework with receptacles on the said plates. 7 16. The combination with receptacles, of a moving framework adapted to support said receptacles, a device adapted to transfer receptacles from and to said framework, said device including endless conveyors, receptacle supporting carrier plates movable with said conveyors, and guide means positioned in the device to project said plates under receptacles within the framework, there to deposit the receptacles they carry and simultaneously to withdraw the receptacles in this manner superposed.

17. The combination with receptacles, of a moving framework adapted to support said receptacles, a device placed adjacent said framework for reciprocatory movement parallel therewith, endless conveyors in said device comprising, horizontally alined shafts parallel with the framework movement, sprockets on said shafts, chains on said sprockets, carrier plates for the receptacles having the edge farthest from the framework pivotally hung on said chains, supports for the near edge of said plates adapted to cause the plates to reciprocate into and away from the framework during conveyor movements, and means associated with the conveyors and the said plates for interchanging receptacles as the plates move into and away from the framework.

18. The combination with receptacles, of a moving framework and a device placed adjacent the latter for reciprocatory movement parallel therewith, both being fitted to support said receptacles in substantially horizontal alinement, means embodied in said device for raising the adjacent edge of the receptacles within the framework, for inserting receptacles from the device beneath said raised edge receptacles, and for transferring the latter to the device.

19. The combination with an endless and continuously moving framework, of a continuous row of elements carried within said framework, transfer means mounted for reciprocatory movement lengthwise of the framework, similar elements carried on said transfer means, and means movable on the latter for interchanging elements each time the transfer means moves in the direction of movement of the framework, the elements passing from the latter to the transfer means being subsequently returned to the framework in exchange for other elements simultaneously withdrawn. therefrom.

20. The combination with an endless and continuously moving framework, of a continuous row of elements can'ied by said framework, transfer means mounted for reciprocatory movement lengthwise of the framework, similar elements carried by said transfer means, and means movable on said transfer means for withdrawing one element from the framework and simultaneously depositing one from the transfer means in its place each time the latter moves in the direction of movement of the framework, the withdrawn element being subsequently returned to the framework during a similar exchange.

21. The combination with a framework continuously moving at constant speed, of receptacles carried by said framework, a carriage adjacent thereto and reciprocable parallel with the direction of movement of the framework, and means reciprocable on said carriage perpendicularly to the travel of the latter for interchanging the receptacles of the framework with receptacles carried by said carriage while the framework and the carriage move in the same direction.

FAY D. CORNELL. EDWIN JACOBSEN. 

